The Brickhouse

When I went to The Brickhouse recently for my birthday with 5 close friends I had heard a lot about it but not been there myself. I loved it! I wanted a place with great food, professional but friendly service and good atmosphere, where we could stay the whole evening. My expectations were not just met but exceeded. Dinner was delicious and exciting, I have to mention the Cappuccino Creme Brulee that came served in a coffee cup with a sprinkling of chocolate! The presentation and the quality of the food really stood out. During the evening there were two sets of aerial performances which were breath-taking and work so well in this space. Later on we moved to the upstairs balcony bar and finished the night with a few cocktails…i'll be back!

Hmmm, what to say about Brick House. Ok, so the Onion Soup was hot oily water, not that nice. The main, well I could have sneezed and it would have disappeared off the plate it was that small. Cheese selection was excellent but two pieces of melba toast a bit miserly I think. Dessert was v'tasty and ample however. Odd.
Bread selection was good – suggest you fill up on that as nothing else will fill you up. Good wine selection mind you.
Entertainment, well I'm sure it changes all the time so this is a snapshot. I was there for the bollywood nights thing which consisted of some bollywood dancers (local girls not actually from bollywood, and more local to surrey than brick lane). They were ok but probably not going to win Britain's Got Talent anytime soon. A belly dancer, she was ok, but not really that good. The host chap was entertaining and probably made the show actually. There was a chinese girl who did that rope twisty thing which was impressive, not sure how it fits with bollywood but good none the less.
However, in all of the above, maybe it was the alchohol in the wine not being sopped up by dinner, but actually a very good night, quite entertaining in “not very good but quite fun none the less” way. Kind of like a cheap fair ground ride that you know is a bit keek but you really enjoy anyway.
After about 10pm the restaurant turns into a night club (hip hop / house). Interesting crowd, very young, like something off the set of Inbetweeners crossed with hed kandi. Some good looking girls (and I do mean girls) wearing not very much who I suspect might have been paid to be there although they did seem on the hunt for something so you never know your luck. Music got progressively louder until it was beyond the capability of the speakers to handle. tut tut. Oh and there was live drumming? errr, that's a bit 2008 isn't it? Now live sax, that's 2010. haha.

I have to write and say how much of a great night I had at the Brick house!

I've heard so many mixed messages about the place that I had to go and check it out for myself and I have to say that both my mates and I had a GREAT night!

The food was superb, the service staff made us feel special and the live entertainment was great. At last, somewhere to go like this in the East End where you can have a full evening without being ripped off on price or getting less than its built up to be.

I will definitely be going there again, so much so, I've already booked in for a special night for 2 with my partner.

Thank you Brickhouse!

Horrible, disappointing evening.

Firstly the whole venue has a distinct ‘footballers wife’ feel to it- which feels out of place on Brick Lane.
The staff try to be nice and welcoming, but it all comes across a bit bitchy and insincere. Especially when you realise how much service charge they're going to lump on your bill – about 20%.

The wine was cheap in taste, but pricey on the menu.
Food had potential to be tasty- £25 menu looked interesting enough. But fool proof touches like bread on the tables, was inexcusably stale.
Creme Brulée dessert was slightly sour tasting and rushed out the door, after we complained about the speed the meals were taking. We sat down to eat at 8.45pm and we were still waiting for final course at 12am.
And the cheese came out before the dessert?!

£10 a head on top, for some very mediocre entertainment. An unfunny and foul smelling compare (we were sitting down on the ground floor) attempted some circus tricks, a quiet little bendy lady did some difficult handstands and a small blonde girl came out twice to do an odd combination of stripping and prancing- certainly not “burlesque”. Felt a bit sorry for her, in her cheap Primark knickers.

The birthday girl in our party, was charged £20 a head for her 5 friends that cancelled on the day + the £10 a head deposit was kept on top of that.
So the Brickhouse made an extra £150 from a poor situation. What ‘restaurant’ does that?

Truly felt like punching someone by the time we left. And I'm a nice lady.

Went tonight for the £55 set menu – our table was facing the stage and some of our party couldn't see the stage area – the enterainment was ok – the best being the lady introducing the acts (the juggler dropped more than he juggled!), it was all very bland, music was dreamlike during the acts, where as it could have been more lively and lifted the atmosphere. Tables next to us were empty which didn't help.
Food was nice, but small portions – we all went for bagels afterwards, coffee wasn't offered at the end of the meal and drinks were pricey. No-one was drunk and the bill was £170 per couple. Wouldn't go back and a bit disappointed after reading great reviews.